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Rebels with a Cause

Rebels with a Cause is a one hour documentary premiering on PBS stations during April, in celebration of Earth Day.

Edgar Wayburn was president of the Sierra Club five times in the 1960s. He helped save over 1 million acres of land. He is featured in one of the segments of the film. How a small regional battle over land grew into America's legacy of National Seashores, Parks and Recreation Areas. It was a fight that went all the way to the White House. Twice. How did they do it?

Academy Award-winning actress Frances McDormand narrates this tale about activists who – despite reversals, diversions and disappointments – persist in their mission for more than twenty years and foster a national movement to preserve open spaces, and shape the environmental movement of today.

The fight begins in the 1950s with a small group of ordinary citizens in Northern California who band together to protect lands adjacent to urban areas from San Francisco's rampant development in order to preserve them for public recreation. But what begins as a regional effort evolves into a decades-long battle for many of America's seashores. It's a fight to preserve something important to all Americans – our public lands. And it's a fight that goes all the way to the White House. Twice.